Pointing device and portable information terminal using the same

ABSTRACT

A pointing device is placed in a through hole provided on an outer case of the portable information terminal. The terminal includes a fingerplate attached to a through hole via a hinge; an image pick-up element placed on a circuit board; a condensing lens that forms an image on an outer surface of the fingerplate on an image pick-up plane of the image pick-up element; and a light emitting device that irradiates the outer surface of the fingerplate with illumination light, and takes the image of a pattern such as a fingerprint that touches the outer surface of the fingerplate by using the image pick-up element. When the fingertip moves, the image taken by the image pick-up element changes and the pointer displayed on a display screen is moved in a direction according to the movement of the fingertip.

The present application is a continuation of application Ser. No.09/930,207, filed Aug. 16, 2001, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pointing device for moving a pointer(cursor) on a display screen used for a portable information terminalsuch as a cellular phone, and a portable information terminal using thepointing device.

Conventionally, a portable information terminal such as a portable typepersonal computer and cellular phone has an operation panel providedwith a display screen on which a pointer for pointing to a desiredposition of an image is displayed and a pointing device for moving thispointer to a desired position.

As such a conventional pointing device, a track ball that moves apointer by detecting the rotation of a ball and a dial type pointer thatmoves a pointer by detecting the rotation of a disk are known.Furthermore, as portable information terminals are being increasinglyimplemented with multi-functions and large-sized display screen, and inorder to make it possible to arbitrarily and smoothly select moreselection items with a pointer, a cross pointer having independent feedswitches for upward/downward, rightward/leftward movements of a pointerand a stick pointer used for a game machine in particular that moves apointer by tilting a stick or disk back and forth, right and left arealso known. Furthermore, as used for a personal computer, etc., tocontinuously move a pointer on an image such as a map displayed on adisplay screen, a pointing device called a “track pad” is also knownwhich consists of a flat table shaped sensor plate with a certain areaand when a finger is moved continuously on this sensor plate, thecontinuously changing position of the finger is detected and the pointeris moved continuously according to this detection result.

On the other hand, since a portable information terminal must meet theneed for portability, there is a demand for a smaller, lighter orthinner terminal. For the track ball or dial type pointing device above,meeting this demand is difficult because this pointing device includes aphysical movable section such as a ball or disk, which puts a limit toreduction of the size.

With the pointing device such as the cross pointer and stick pointerabove, the pointer basically moves one step by one operation, that is,the pointer moves by one item displayed on the display screen at a time,and therefore selecting an item at a considerable distance on thedisplay screen requires more operations, which takes time and trouble.

Moreover, the track pad described above moves the pointer by touchingthe sensor plate with the finger and therefore the sensor plate musthave an area sufficiently greater than the area of the finger thattouches this and is not suited to miniaturization.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pointing devicecapable of being small-sized and facilitating movement of the pointer,and a portable information terminal using such a pointing device.

In order to attain the above object, the pointing device according tothe present invention includes a transparent plate having an outersurface to contact the surface of an object, image detecting means fordetecting an image of the surface of the object that contacts the outersurface of the plate and optical means for forming an image on the outersurface of the plate on the detection plane of the image detectingmeans, in which the pointer is configured to be able to move accordingto the movement of the image on the outer surface of the plate detectedby said image detecting means.

Furthermore, the portable information terminal according to the presentinvention is provided with the above-described pointing device andcomprises means for detecting the movement of the image detected by theimage detecting means and moving the pointer in the direction accordingto the direction of the detected movement.

When the user puts the finger on the plate and moves the finger fromthat position, the above configuration allows the fingerprint of thisfingertip to be detected as a moving image and allows the pointer on thedisplay screen to move in the direction according to the direction ofthis movement. This prevents the user from operating different operationswitches according to the moving direction of the pointer and makes theoperation easier. Moreover, the user only needs to detect the movementof the image on the plate, and therefore it is possible to narrow therange of image detection and reduce the size of the pointing device.

Furthermore, the portable information terminal according to the presentinvention provided with the above-described pointing device comprisesmeans for determining the presence/absence of movement of the image onthe outer surface of the plate detected by the image detecting means andswitching the sensing frequency of the image detecting means accordingto the determination result.

When there is no movement of the image on the outer surface of the plateand no pointer movement operation, the above configuration makes itpossible to reduce the sensing frequency of the image detecting meansand suppress power consumption of the image detecting means accordingly.

In order to attain the above object, the pointing device according tothe present invention further includes light emitting means for emittinglight onto the outer surface of said plate in addition to the aboveconfiguration.

Furthermore, the portable information terminal according to the presentinvention is provided with the above-described pointing device andcomprises first means for measuring a reflection factor of the plate onthe outer surface from the quantity of light received of the imagedetecting means and the quantity of light emitted of the light emittingmeans, second means for designating the quantity of light emitted of thelight emitting means as a first reference value when the reflectionfactor measured by the first means falls below a predetermined minimumreference value and adjusting the quantity of light emitted of the lightemitting means when the reflection factor measured by the first meansexceeds the minimum reference value so that the quantity of lightreceived by the image detecting means becomes a predetermined secondreference value which is larger than the first reference value, thirdmeans for detecting the movement of the image detected by the imagedetecting means and moving the pointer in the direction according to thedirection of said detected movement and fourth means for determining thepresence/absence of movement of the image detected by the imagedetecting means, setting the pointing device in an action mode when themovement is detected, moving the pointer in the direction according tothe direction of the movement and setting the pointing device in astandby mode when the movement is not detected for a predeterminedperiod of time, wherein the sensing frequency of the pointing device inthe standby mode is smaller than the sensing frequency of the pointingdevice in the action mode.

Furthermore, the second means changes temporarily the quantity of lightemitted of the light emitting means when the reflection factor measuredby the first means falls below a predetermined minimum reference valueand designates the quantity of light emitted of the light emitting meansas the predetermined first reference value when the quantity of lightreceived of the image detecting means does not change as the quantity oflight emitted changes.

According to the configuration above, the light emitting meansilluminates the image on the outer surface of the plate and the imagedetecting means can detect an image of high brightness and when nopointer movement operation is carried out without touching the outersurface of the plate with the fingertip, etc., this can be detected,which can suppress the quantity of light emitted by the light emittingmeans as standby mode and allows power saving. Moreover, whether thefingertip, etc. is touching the outer surface of the plate or not isjudged from the reflection factor of the image on the outer surface ofthe plate and further a variation of the quantity of light received ofthe image detecting means is detected by temporarily changing thequantity of light emitted of the light emitting means, and thereforewhether the fingertip, etc. is touching the outer surface of the plateor not can be judged more accurately. This configuration can providedetection of an image with necessary and sufficient brightness withoutbeing affected by personal differences such as the color of thefingertip or differences from one part to another, and even if the userwears gloves, this configuration can provide detection of an image withnecessary and sufficient brightness without being affected bydifferences in color or material.

Furthermore, the portable information terminal according to the presentinvention in the above configuration allows the pointing device to pushthe plate and is provided with at least one operation switch thatoperates in accordance with this pushing operation and one of theseoperation switches is designated as an “ENTER” switch to enter the menuon the display screen indicated by the pointer.

Such a configuration allows the pointing device to have multi-functions,makes it possible to reduce the number of operation switches on theoperation panel of the portable information terminal, further reduce thesize of the portable information terminal, and add new operationswitches enhancing the multi-functions of the portable informationterminal.

Furthermore, the portable information terminal according to the presentinvention in the above configuration is configured so that the opticalmeans of the pointing device can change the focal distance of thecondensing lens.

Such a configuration allows the portable information terminal accordingto the present invention to also have functions as a digital camera orvideo camera.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a portable informationterminal according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2A, 2B are configuration diagrams showing an embodiment of apointing device according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3A, 3B are configuration diagrams showing another specific exampleof illuminating means of the pointing device shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A, 4B are configuration diagrams showing another layout exampleof a fingerplate of the pointing device shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F are perspective views showing a specificexample of a configuration of an outer surface of the fingerplate shownin FIG. 2 to FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6A, 6B are configuration diagrams showing another specific exampleof the “ENTER” switch operating means shown in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are configuration diagrams showing another embodiment ofthe pointing device according to the present invention;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D are configuration diagrams showing a furtherembodiment of the pointing device according to the present invention;

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D are configuration diagrams showing a still furtherembodiment of the pointing device according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the circuitconfiguration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 11A, 11B are drawings to explain a method of detecting a variationof an image picked up from the pointing device of a controller in FIG.10;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an operation of the pointing deviceshown in FIG. 2 by the controller in FIG. 10;

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, 13E illustrate layout examples of the pointingdevice according to the present invention on a portable informationterminal;

FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 14E illustrate another layout examples of thepointing device according to the present invention on the portableinformation terminal;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a specific example of a circuitconfiguration of another embodiment of the portable information terminalaccording to the present invention;

FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D illustrate layout examples of an open/closedetector, a contact sensor, an operation lock switch, a receiver sectionproximity sensor shown in FIG. 15 on the portable information terminal;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing a control operation of the pointingdevice according to detection outputs of the open/close detector, thecontact sensor, the operation lock switch, the receiver sectionproximity sensor of the controller shown in FIG. 15;

FIGS. 18A, 18B illustrate other specific examples of misoperationpreventing means of the pointing device according to the presentinvention;

FIGS. 19A, 19B, 19C illustrate further specific examples of themisoperation preventing means of the pointing device according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing a specific example of an operationprocedure for making a call with the embodiment of the portableinformation terminal according to the present invention;

FIGS. 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E, 21F, 21G illustrate specific examples ofscreens displayed sequentially on the display screen according to theoperation procedure shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing a specific example of the operationprocedure for receiving a map service of the embodiment of the portableinformation terminal according to the present invention;

FIGS. 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 23E, 23F, 23G, 23H, 23I, 23J illustratespecific examples of the screens displayed sequentially on the displayscreen shown in FIG. 22; and

FIGS. 24A, 24B are cross-sectional views showing a specific example ofthe pointing device when the embodiment of the portable informationterminal according to the present invention is provided with a videocamera function.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

With reference now to the attached drawings, embodiments of the presentinvention will be explained below.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a portable informationterminal using a pointing device according to the present invention.Reference numeral 1 denotes a portable information terminal; 2, anoperation panel; 2 a, a “Power/stop call” button; 2 b, “Start call”button; 2 c, a “Menu” button; 2 d, a “Return” button; 3, a displayscreen; 4, a pointing device. Here, this embodiment shows a case of acellular phone, but this embodiment can also be other portableinformation terminals such as a portable type personal computer.

In the same drawing, the operation panel 2 including various operationcomponents such as the pointing device 4 and the display screen 3 thatshows an image and pointer (cursor, not shown) are provided on the frontof the portable information terminal 1. The operation panel 2 isprovided with the “Power/stop call” button 2 a to indicate the powerbutton and the end of a call, the Start call” button 2 b to indicate thestart of a call, the “Menu” button 2 c to display the menu screen on thedisplay screen 3, the “Return” button 2 d to return to the screendisplayed just before on the display screen 3 and a ten-key pad whichcan also be used to enter characters, etc.

The pointer displayed on the display screen 3 can be moved by strokingthe surface of the pointing device 4 on the operation panel 2 with afingertip. The pointing device 4 is also provided with an enter functionwhich is not shown and pressing this pointing device 4 with thefingertip activates this enter function to enter an item indicated bythe pointer on the display screen 3 or touch button, etc.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the pointing device 4 according to thepresent invention used for the portable information terminal shown inFIG. 1 and FIG. 2A is a vertical cross-sectional view and FIG. 2B is atop view to see through the pointing device 4 and reference numeral 4 adenotes a fingerplate; 4 b, a light emitting device; 4 c, an imagepick-up element; 4 d, a condensing lens; 4 e, a hinge; 5, “ENTER”switch, 6, a circuit board; 7, a fingertip; 7 a, the thick of thefingertip; 8, an outer case of the portable information terminal 1, 8 a,a through hole perforated in the outer case 8.

By the way, the top surface of the outer case 8 in FIG. 2A is an outsideof the portable information terminal 1.

In FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the fingerplate 4 a, light emitting device 4 b,image pick-up element 4 c, condensing lens 4 d and hinge 4 e constitutethe pointing device 4 in FIG. 1 and the transparent fingerplate 4 a ofthese components is fitted in the through hole 8 a perforated in theouter case 8 on the operation panel 2 (FIG. 1) side of the portableinformation terminal 1. This fingerplate 4 a has a convex outer surface(that is, the surface of the fingertip 7 shown in the figure) and sticksout of the outer surface of the outer case 8 and can be easily touchedby the thick 7 a of the fingertip 7. Furthermore, one end of thisfingerplate 4 a is supported by the hinge 4 e and set in such a way asto be pivotable centered on the hinge 4 e in the direction shown by thearrow. This fingerplate 4 a can be pushed in the outer case 8 (that is,inside the portable information terminal 1) by the fingertip 7. When thepushing by the fingertip 7 is released, the fingerplate 4 a is returnedto its original position shown in the figure by restoring means such asa spring (not shown).

Inside the outer case 8, the light emitting device 4 b, condensing lens4 d and image pick-up element 4 c are provided. The image pick-upelement 4 c is fixed to the circuit board 6 inside the outer case 8. Thenormal in the center of the image pick-up surface of this image pick-upelement 4 c, the optical axis of the condensing lens 4 d and the centralaxis of the fingerplate 4 a almost coincide and the condensing lens 4 dis placed in such a way that the image of the object on the outersurface of the fingerplate 4 a is focused on the image pick-up surfaceof the image pick-up element 4 c. Furthermore, the light emitting device4 b irradiates diagonally the outer surface of the fingerplate 4 a fromthe inside of the outer case 8. Therefore, when there is nothing on theouter surface of the fingerplate 4 a, the light beam from the lightemitting device 4 b passes through the fingerplate 4 a and goes out ofthe portable information terminal 1, but if the thick 7 a of thefingertip 7 touches the outer surface of the fingerplate 4 a, the lightbeam from the light emitting device 4 b illuminates this thick 7 a andpart of the reflected light is collected by the image pick-up element 4c via the condensing lens 4 d. In this way, when the pattern of thesurface of an object that touches the fingerplate 4 a, for example, whenthe thick 7 a of the fingertip 7 touches the fingerplate 4 a, the imageof the finger print is taken by the image pick-up element 4 c. The imagepick-up area of this image pick-up element 4 c on the fingerplate 4 a ispart of the area such as the central area of the fingerplate 4 a, andtherefore an image of part of the area of the thick 7 a of the fingertip7 that touches the fingerplate 4 a is picked up.

Thus, when the light beam is applied diagonally to the surface of anobject that touches the fingerplate 4 a, if the pattern of this surfaceof the object is a pattern made up of projections and depressions suchas the finger print of the fingertip 7, the variations of light andshade produced by this light beam becomes further noticeable and animage with a more distinctive pattern is picked up by the image pick-upelement 4 c.

Furthermore, as shown above, by pushing the fingerplate 4 a with thefingertip 7 in the direction shown by the arrow, the fingerplate 4 atouches and activates the “ENTER” switch 5 to carry out an enteroperation, which will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another specific example of theilluminating means of the pointing device 4 shown in FIG. 2 andreference numerals 4 f, 4 f ₁ and 4 f ₂ denote optical path changingmeans and the same parts as those in FIG. 2 are assigned the samereference numerals and overlapping explanations will be omitted.

A specific example shown in FIG. 3A describes a case where the lightemitting device 4 b is placed on the circuit board 6 face up (that is,the outgoing illumination beam is oriented perpendicular to the plane ofthe circuit board 6) and the illumination beam is emitted in thedirection perpendicular to the plane of the circuit board 6. Then, theoptical path changing means 4 f made up of a mirror or prism is providedbetween this light emitting device 4 b and the outer case 8 so that theoptical path changing means 4 f changes the optical path of theillumination beam output from the light emitting device 4 b and thefingerplate 4 a is irradiated with this illumination beam diagonallyfrom the lower part.

A specific example shown in FIG. 3B describes a case where the lightemitting device 4 b is placed on its side on the circuit board 6 (thatis, the outgoing beam is oriented parallel to the surface of the circuitboard 6) and the illumination beam is emitted in the direction parallelto the surface of the circuit board 6. Moreover, on the circuit board 6an optical path changing means 4 f ₁ made up of a mirror or prism isprovided facing the light emission port of this light emitting device 4b and an optical path changing means 4 f ₂ made up of a mirror or prismis provided facing the optical path changing means 4 f ₁ between thecircuit board 6 and outer case 8 so that the light path of theillumination beam output from the light emitting device 4 b is changedby these optical path changing means 4 f ₁ and 4 f ₂ and the fingerplate4 a is irradiated with this illumination beam diagonally from below.

Thus, placing the light emitting device 4 b, which is an electronicpart, on the same circuit board as that of the image pick-up element 4 ccan simplify wiring support parts, etc., reduce manufacturing cost andshorten the operation time.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing another layout of thefingerplate 4 a of the pointing device 4 shown in FIG. 2 and the sameparts as those in FIG. 2 are assigned the same reference numerals andoverlapping explanations will be omitted.

The specific example shown in FIG. 4A is configured to allow thefingerplate 4 a to be placed inside the outer case 8. In this case, theentire fingerplate 4 a can be placed inside the outer case 8 or thefingerplate 4 a can be placed so that the central part of the convexouter surface of the fingerplate 4 a is placed inside the through hole 8a of the outer case 8 or the central part of the convex outer surface ofthe fingerplate 4 a sticks out of this through hole 8 a.

In this case, the distance between the fingerplate 4 a and circuit board6 becomes shorter, and therefore it is possible to increase the abovedistance by making the thickness of the fingerplate 4 a almost uniformand make the inner surface side have a concave shape.

The specific example shown in FIG. 4B is configured in such a way thatthe fingerplate 4 a is placed outside the outer case 8. In this case,the “ENTER” switch 5 is also mounted on the outer case 8 so that atleast the operation part pressed by the fingerplate 4 a also comesoutside the outer case 8.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing specific examples of configurationsof the outer surface of the fingerplate 4 a shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4.Here, the fingerplate 4 a has a true circle shape, but the presentinvention is not limited to this and any surface shape can be taken suchas ellipsoidal, rectangular or other shapes.

The specific example shown in FIG. 5A shows the fingerplate 4 a whoseouter region is made up of an opaque outline section 10 and has atransparent section 9 inside this outline section 10 as the area throughwhich light passes. The image pick-up element 4 c (FIG. 2) uses apredetermined area of this transparent section 9 as the image pick-uparea. Such outline section 10 can reduce unnecessary incident lighttoward the image pick-up surface of the image pick-up element 4 c fromoutside.

The specific example shown in FIG. 5B shows the fingerplate 4 a with ashallow groove-like guide 11 provided in the radial direction passingits center, which makes it easier to move the fingertip 7 (FIG. 2) whiletouching the fingerplate 4 a. It is this central part within this guide11 that is the image pick-up area of the image pick-up element 4 c andthe area outside this image pick-up area can be opaque.

The specific example above is the case where the guide 11 is providedonly in one direction, but as shown in FIG. 5C, it is also possible toprovide two guides 11 a and 11 b, which intersect at right angles. Inthis case, the image pick-up area 12 of the image pick-up element 4 c isset at the intersection of these guides 11 a and 11 b.

The specific example shown in FIG. 5D shows the specific example in FIG.5C with guides 11 a and 11 b further finished with a gloss and the otherarea 13 leather-grained. Applying leather-graining to this area 13 hasan effect of making it easier to slide the finger and preventing sweatfrom sticking to the surface.

The specific example shown in FIG. 5E shows a case where a hollowsection 14 is provided in the center of the outer surface of thefingerplate 4 a and the image pick-up area of the image pick-up element4 c is set within this hollow section 14. Setting the image pick-up areaof the image pick-up element 4 c within this hollow section 14 in thisway prevents other objects from touching this image pick-up area andprevents this image pick-up area from being damaged when the portableinformation terminal 1 is put in, for example, a briefcase. In thisspecific example, it is also possible to make the area outside thehollow section 14 opaque or as shown in FIG. 5F, provide guides 11 a and11 b similar to those in FIG. 5C or as in the case of the specificexample in FIG. 5D, finish guides 11 a and 11 b and hollow section 14with a gloss and apply leather-graining to the other area.

FIG. 6 illustrates another specific example of the operating means ofthe “ENTER” switch 5 shown in FIG. 2 and the same parts as those in FIG.2 are assigned the same reference numerals and overlapping explanationsthereof will be omitted.

The specific example shown in FIG. 6A shows a case where the fingerplate4 a is attached to the inner surface of the outer case 8 via the hinge 4e at a sufficiently large distance from the through hole 8 a provided inthe outer case 8. This makes it possible to increase a distance Lbetween the position on the fingerplate 4 a pressed by the fingertip tocarry out an ENTER operation and the position at which this fingerplate4 a is attached to the outer case 8 and realize a motion close to apushing operation in the vertical direction though it is actually anarc-shaped motion centered on the hinge 4 e.

The specific example shown in FIG. 6B shows a case where the fingerplate4 a is attached to the inner surface of the outer case 8 via the hinge 4e at a position close to the through hole 8 a provided in the outer case8 and at the same time this fingerplate 4 a extends beyond the positionat which the fingerplate 4 a is attached via this hinge 4 e and the“ENTER” switch 5 is provided on the line of this extension. According tothis configuration, when the fingerplate 4 a is pressed by thefingertip, the “ENTER” switch 5 is lifted centered on the mountingsection via the hinge 4 e and the operating part thereof is pressedagainst the inner surface of the outer case 8 to perform an ENTERoperation. In this case, the ENTER operation can be performed with asmaller force by applying the principle of leverage though this dependson a positional relationship between the hinge 4 e and the “ENTER”switch 5.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of thepointing device 4 according to the present invention. FIG. 7A is a topview and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view. Reference numeral 15 denotesa “RETURN” switch, 16 a and 16 b denote protrusions and referencenumeral 17 denotes a rotation axis. The same parts as those in theabove-described figures are assigned the same reference numerals andoverlapping explanations thereof will be omitted.

This embodiment describes a case where the pointing device 4 describedin FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 is provided with enhanced multi-functions.

In FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the “ENTER” switch 5 and “RETURN” switch 15 areplaced inside the outer case 8 with the through hole 8 a placed inbetween and protruding pressing sections are formed toward the switches5 and 15 on the fingerplate 4 a. The fingerplate 4 a is placed bymounting means (not shown) in such a way as to be pivotable centered onthe rotation axis 17. Here, the rotation axis 17 is perpendicular to thestraight line connecting the “ENTER” switch 5 and “RETURN” switch 15. Ofcourse, the mounting means above is made of a transparent material orprovided in such a way as to bypass the image pick-up area so as not toprevent the image pick-up element 4 c (FIG. 2) from picking up an imageon the outer surface of the fingerplate 4 a. Furthermore, a protrusion16 a and a protrusion 16 b are provided toward the “RETURN” switch 15and toward the “ENTER” switch 5 of the outer surface of the fingerplate4 a, respectively. The image pick-up area of the image pick-up element 4c on the outer surface of this fingerplate 4 a is the central partbetween the protrusions 16 a and 16 b on this outer surface.

When the pointing device 4 is provided with the “RETURN” function,providing the operation panel 2 with the “RETURN” switch 2 d as shown inFIG. 1 is not a necessary condition though doing so is not objected.

With this pointing device 4 in such a configuration, the image in theimage pick-up area on the outer surface of the fingerplate 4 a is takenby the image pick-up element 4 c and pushing in the “ENTER” switch 5 ofthis fingerplate 4 a with the fingertip causes the protruding pressingsection of this fingerplate 4 a to press and activate this “ENTER”switch 5 to carry out an ENTER operation. In this case, the fingertip isstopped by the protrusion 16 b, which makes it easier to push in theENTER” switch 5 of the fingerplate 4 a. Moreover, by pushing in the“RETURN” switch 15 of this fingerplate 4 a with the fingertip causes theprotruding pressing section of the fingerplate 4 a to press and activatethis “RETURN” switch 15 to carry out the operation of returning to thedisplay of the image displayed one step before on the display screen 3(FIG. 1). Thus, during a series of operations of browsing a menu in ahierarchic structure, it is possible to carry out operations withouttaking the finger off the pointing device. Moreover, once the operatorplaces the finger on the pointing device, then the operator canconcentrate on the display screen only without looking at the operatingfinger, which makes the operation easier. In this case, the fingertip isalso stopped by the protrusion 16 a, which makes it easier to push inthe “RETURN” switch 15 of the fingerplate 4 a.

By the way, this embodiment also describes the case where the pointerdisplayed on the display screen 3 is moved continuously or step by stepby touching and moving the image pick-up area in the center of thefingerplate 4 a with the fingertip (the pointer moves continuously whenmoving on a map and moves step by step when moving on the screen of aselection item such as a menu screen). Furthermore, the protrusions 16 aand 16 b are not always necessary.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a further embodiment of thepointing device 4 according to the present invention and FIG. 8A is atop view, FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 8C and FIG. 8D arefunctional schematic diagrams, and reference numerals 17 a and 17 bdenote rotation axes; 18 a to 18 d, functional switches; and 19,protrusions. The same parts as those shown in the above-describeddrawings are assigned the same reference numerals and overlappingexplanations thereof will be omitted.

This embodiment describes the pointing device 4 explained in FIG. 2 toFIG. 4 with enhanced multi-functions.

In FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, four functional switches 18 a, 18 b, 18 c and 18d are spaced uniformly around the through hole 8 a of the outer case 8inside the outer case 8 and protruding pressing sections correspondingto these functional switches 18 a, 18 b, 18 c and 18 d are formed on thefingerplate 4 a.

Then, the fingerplate 4 a is placed by mounting means (not shown) insuch a way as to be pivotable on the two axes of the rotation axes 17 aand 17 b orthogonal, which are perpendicular to each other. Here, therotation axis 17 a is perpendicular to the straight line connecting thefunctional switches 18 c and 18 d, while the rotation axis 17 b isperpendicular to the straight line connecting the functional switches 18a and 18 b. Of course, the mounting means above of the fingerplate 4 ais made of a transparent material so as not to prevent the image pick-upelement 4 c (FIG. 2) from capturing the image on the outer surface ofthe fingerplate 4 a. Furthermore, protrusions 19 are provided toward thefunctional switches 18 a to 18 d on the outer surface of the fingerplate4 a. The image pick-up area of the image pick-up element 4 c on theouter surface of this fingerplate 4 a is the central part between theprotrusions 19 on this outer surface.

In this pointing device 4 having such a configuration, the image of theabove-described image pick-up area on the outer surface of thefingerplate 4 a is taken by the image pick-up element 4 c and pressingthe functional switch 18 a side of this fingerplate 4 a with thefingertip causes the fingerplate 4 a to incline toward the functionalswitch 18 a and the protruding pressing section of the fingerplate 4 apresses and activates the functional switch 18 a. In this case, sincethe protrusion 19 is provided on the functional switch 18 a side of theouter surface of the fingerplate 4 a, the fingertip is stopped by thisprotrusion, which makes it easier to push in the functional switch 18 aside of the fingerplate 4 a. The same applies to other functionalswitches 18 b to 18 d sides and it is possible to push in thefingerplate 4 a toward these switches and activate these switches. Theseswitches are also provided with their respective protrusions 19, whichmakes it easier to push in the fingerplate 4 a towards these switches.

Here, the functional switches 18 a to 18 d are provided withpredetermined functions. FIG. 8C shows an example of this. Here, thefunctional switches 18 a to 18 d are provided with the function ofmoving the pointer displayed on the display screen 3 (FIG. 1) one stepat a time (that is, one item at a time when the menu screen is displayedon the display screen 3). More specifically, explaining this withreference to FIG. 8A, the functional switch 18 a is used to move thepointer one step rightward at a time, the functional switch 18 b is usedto move the pointer one step leftward, the functional switch 18 c isused to move the pointer one step upward and the functional switch 18 dis used to move the pointer one step downward.

When the function shown in FIG. 8C is provided, touching the imagepick-up area in the central part of the fingerplate 4 a with thefingertip and moving the fingertip allows the pointer displayed on thedisplay screen 3 to move continuously. The protrusions 19 are not alwaysnecessary.

Furthermore, FIG. 8D shows another example of function. The portableinformation terminal 1 provided with the pointing device 4 with theimage pick-up element 4 c (FIG. 2) and the display screen 3 can functionas a video camera to take pictures of landscapes, etc. using the imagepick-up element 4 c and store signals of images taken by the imagepick-up element 4 c in a built-in storage device with an increasedvolume of storage or in a large-volume storage medium that can beattached to the apparatus and read and replay the image signals on thedisplay screen 3.

In this case, it is possible to provide the replay operation function asshown in FIG. 8D. Explaining this with reference to FIG. 8A, thefunctional switch 18 a is provided with a fast-forward function, thefunctional switch 18 b is provided with a rewind function, thefunctional switch 18 c is provided with a replay/pause function and thefunctional switch 18 d is provided with a stop function.

When the function shown in FIG. 8D is provided, touching the imagepick-up area in the central part of the fingerplate 4 a with thefingertip and moving the fingertip allows the pointer displayed on thedisplay screen 3 to move continuously or step by step (the pointer movescontinuously when moving on a map and moves step by step when moving onthe screen of a selection item such as a menu screen). The protrusions19 are not always necessary.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of thepointing device 4 according to the present invention and FIG. 9A is atop view, FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C are cross-sectional views along a lineA-A′ and B-B′ of FIG. 9A, respectively and FIG. 9D is a functionalschematic diagram. Reference numeral 20 denotes an ENTER operationsection; 21, a functional operation section; 22, an actuating part; 23,a hinge. The same parts as those in FIG. 8 are assigned the samereference numerals and overlapping explanations thereof will be omitted.

This embodiment is a case where an ENTER operation section is added tothe pointing device 4 explained in FIG. 8 to further enhance themulti-functions.

That is, in FIG. 9A to FIG. 9D, the fingerplate 4 a is divided into twoareas; a central part and a peripheral part and the central partconstitutes an ENTER operation section 20 and the peripheral partconstitutes a functional operation section 21 to activate the functionalswitches 18 a to 18 d. Since this functional operation section 21 issimilar to the fingerplate 4 a in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8,explanations thereof will be omitted. The ENTER operation section 20 isconfigured to be able to be pushed in. One end of the actuating part 22,which is supported by a hinge 23 in a pivotable manner, is attached tothe inner side of this ENTER operation section 20 and the other end ofthis actuating part 22 constitutes the operation section of the “ENTER”switch 5 provided on the inner surface of the outer case 8.

Pushing in the ENTER operation section 20 of the fingerplate 4 a withthe fingertip makes the actuating part 22 rotate centered on the hinge23 and the operation part at the end of this actuating part 22 acts onthe “ENTER” switch 5 and activates it. When the pushing of the ENTERoperation section 20 is released, the ENTER operation section 20 returnsto its original position by means which is not shown.

By the way, the image pick-up area of the image pick-up element 4 c(FIG. 2) is set inside the ENTER operation section 20 in thisembodiment, too and touching this image pick-up area with the fingertipand moving the fingertip allows the pointer displayed on the displayscreen 3 to move continuously.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of theportable information terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1 and reference numeral 24denotes an antenna; 25, radio equipment that transmits/receives a radiosignal; 26, a modulator/demodulator that modulates a transmission signaland demodulates a received signal; 27, a transmission/reception signalprocessor that processes a transmission signal or arriving signal; 28, asound processor that processes a speech signal from a speech transmitter29 such as a microphone and a speech signal supplied to a speechreceiver 30 such as a speaker; 31, a controller that controls the entireportable information terminal 1; 32, a storage device that storesinformation from a telephone directory, various set data or informationfrom the Internet; 33, a display that displays images or pointer, etc.on the display screen 3 (FIG. 1); 34, a silent arrival annunciator suchas a vibrator that produces vibration to notify the user of arrival of acall and the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are assigned the samereference numerals.

In the same drawing, as explained in FIG. 2, when the pointing device 4is touched with the fingertip 7, an image of the pattern of the thick 7a thereof, that is, the fingerprint is taken by the image pick-upelement 4 c and the image signal is supplied to the controller 31. Thecontroller 31 reads image signals from this image pick-up element 4 c atpredetermined time intervals, compares images of image signals loadedbefore and after, such as time t₁ and time t₂ as shown in FIG. 11,detects a change and thereby detects the movement of the fingertip 7 onthe pointing device 4. Then, this controller 31 controls the position ofthe pointer displayed on the display screen 3 (FIG. 1) by the display 33according to this detection result. When no movement of the fingertip 7is detected, the controller 31 holds this pointer in a halt state andwhen any movement of the fingertip 7 is detected, the controller 31moves the pointer at a speed according to the movement of this fingertip7 and in the direction according to the direction of the movement ofthis fingertip 7. Thus, touching the fingerplate 4 a of the pointingdevice 4 with the fingertip 7 and moving this fingertip 7 allows thepointer to move on the display screen 3.

Thus, when the pointer reaches a predetermined position on the displayscreen 3 (for example, a position at which a predetermined item isdisplayed), pushing in the fingerplate 4 a with the fingertip 7activates the “ENTER” switch 5 and selects and specifies the position(for example, the predetermined item above).

Furthermore, the controller 31 detects the quantity of light received bythe image pick-up element 4 c of the pointing device 4 and controls thequantity of light emitted by the light emitting device 4 b, etc.

Parts other than those described above are the same as those in theconventional portable information terminal.

On the other hand, when the display 3 in FIG. 2 is large and when thepointer is moved in one direction, if it is impossible to move thepointer to a desired position with a single operation of the fingertip7, the fingertip 7 must move on the fingerplate 4 a repeatedly and themovement of the fingertip 7 at this time is a reciprocating motion. Inthis case, if this reciprocating motion is performed with the fingertip7 contacting the fingerplate 4 a, the controller 31 (FIG. 10) assumesthat the fingertip 7 is performing a reciprocating motion and makes thepointer also perform a reciprocating motion accordingly, which preventsthe pointer from moving to a desired position. Therefore, when it is notpossible to move the pointer to a desired position without moving thefingertip 7 a plurality of times, it is necessary to take this fingertip7 off the fingerplate 4 a when returning the fingertip 7.

However, this occurs in the case where the display screen 3 is large.However, such a problem does not occur when the display screen 3 issmall as in the case of a cellular phone and it is possible to move thepointer from one side of the display screen 3 to the opposite side by asingle motion of the fingertip 7 on the fingerplate 4 a.

In such a pointing device 4, it is only necessary to take an image ofpart of the thick 7 a of the fingertip 7, that is, it is only necessaryto detect a change of the image read by the controller 31 before andafter. This makes it possible to reduce the area of the surface of thefingerplate 4 a, and hence the size of the fingerplate 4 a and as aresult, reduce the size of the pointing device 4.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a control operation of the pointingdevice 4 by the controller 31.

In the same drawing, when the “Power/stop call” button 2 a is operatedon the operation panel 2 of the portable information terminal 1 shown inFIG. 1, power is turned on, or when the pointing device 4 gets ready foroperation by opening the cover of the portable information terminal 1 ina configuration described later, or unfolding the folded portableinformation terminal 1, the pointing device 4 is set in a standby mode(step 100). In this standby mode, the controller 31 makes the lightemitting device 4 b emit illumination light with a predeterminedquantity of light emission and the image pick-up element 4 c repeatspicture taking with the frequency (sensing frequency) of approximately10 times a second. When the image pick-up element 4 c takes pictures,the quantity of light received by the image pick-up element 4 c isdetected from the output thereof and the reflection factor (=quantity oflight received/quantity of light emitted) on the outer surface of thefingerplate 4 a is calculated based on the quantity of light receivedand the quantity of light emitted of the light emitting device 4 b (step101). The quantity of light received is assumed to be, for example, theintegrated value of the output signal value corresponding to one screenfrom the image pick-up element 4 c and the quantity of light emitted ofthe light emitting device 4 b is assumed to be a drive power value ofthis light emitting device 4 b.

Then, this reflection factor calculated is compared with a presetminimum reflection factor (minimum reference value) (step 102). Thisstep 102 is intended to determine whether the fingertip 7, etc. istouching the fingerplate 4 a or not and this minimum reference value canbe obtained by, for example, an experiment, etc.

Then, if the reflection factor obtained in step 101 is below thisminimum reference value, it is determined that the fingertip, etc. isnot touching the fingerplate 4 a for the operation of moving the pointeron the display screen 3 (hereinafter referred to as “pointer operation”)(if the reflection factor is below this minimum reference value, thequantity of light emitted of the light emitting device 4 b istemporarily increased and the quantity of light received by the imagepick-up element 4 c at this time is detected, and if there is almost nochange in the quantity of light received even if the quantity of lightemitted is increased in this way, it can also be determined that thefingertip, etc. is not touching the fingerplate 4 a), the quantity oflight emitted of the light emitting device 4 b is set to a preset smallreference value (step 103) and the process moves on to step 105. Thisallows power saving in the standby mode. On the other hand, when thereflection factor obtained in step 101 exceeds this minimum referencevalue, it is determined that the fingertip, etc. is touching thefingerplate 4 a for a pointer operation (step 102), the quantity oflight emitted of the light emitting device 4 b is set to a valueaccording to this reflection factor and the quantity of light receivedby the image pick-up element 4 c is adjusted to a predetermined constantvalue (step 104). Therefore, if, for example, the reflection factor ofan image of the fingertip covered with a glove is low and the quantityof light received is not enough to take the image on the image pick-upsurface by the image pick-up element 4 c with favorable brightness, thequantity of light emitted of the light emitting device 4 b is increasedso as to increase the output level of the image pick-up element 4 c, oron the contrary, if the reflection factor of the fingertip 7 touchingthe fingerplate 4 a is high and the quantity of light received on theimage pick-up surface by the image pick-up element 4 c is too much, thequantity of light emitted of the light emitting device 4 b is decreasedso that the light emitting device 4 b does not output the quantity ofunnecessary light to save power consumption. After this quantity oflight emitted is adjusted, the process moves on to step 105.

In this step 105, the image pick-up element 4 c takes pictures with lowfrequency in a standby mode (that is, sensing frequency is 10 times/sec,etc.), and every time an image is taken, the image pick-up element 4 ccompares the image with the previous image and detects whether there isany change (movement) of the image. Then, if no change is detected forone sec or more (step 106), unless the “Power/stop call” button 2 a(FIG. 1) on the operation panel 2 is operated again and power is turnedoff (step 110), the process returns to step 100 and detects thereflection factor as shown above and adjusts the quantity of lightemitted of the light emitting device 4 b. If the “Power/stop call”button 2 a on the operation panel 2 is operated and power is turned OFFor the cover is put on the portable information terminal 1 as will bedescribed later and the use of the portable information terminal 1 iscompleted (step 110), the pointing device 4 is set in a halt state.

Moreover, if there is any change (movement) with the image (step 105),it is judged that the pointer is operated, and the pointing device 4 ischanged to an action mode (step 107). In this action mode, the sensingfrequency of the image pick-up element 4 c is set to a high speed, forexample, 1000 times/sec, and this makes smooth the change of the imageobtained from the image pick-up element 4 c for the movement of thefingertip 7. The controller 31 picks up each image taken and detects achange from the image taken previously and changes the position of thepointer according to the change, that is, the movement of the fingertip7 (step 108). The operations in step 107 and 108 are repeated as long assuch an operation of the pointing device 4 continues (step 109).

In the above action mode, the image pick-up element 4 c takes pictures(sensing) with a frequency as high as 1000 times a second, for example,compared to a normal video camera, but since the picture taking range ofthis image pick-up element 4 c is extremely narrow, detection of imagescan be performed with high resolution even if the number of pixels isset to a small value compared to an image pick-up element used for anordinary video camera, and this ability to reduce the number of pixelsmakes it possible to increase the sensing frequency as shown above. Onthe other hand, increasing the sensing frequency in this way willshorten the time of exposure of each pixel, and by increasing thequantity of light emitted so that the necessary quantity of light isobtained in that short exposure time (this will be done in step 104),the quantity of light received at each pixel increases and an imagesignal with a sufficient level is obtained from the image pick-upelement 4 c. Furthermore, it is also possible to use a device such as alight emitting diode that can emit light in pulses and generate anecessary sufficient quantity of light in a short time.

Moreover, in the standby mode above, when the fingertip 7, etc. is nottouching the fingerplate 4 a, the quantity of light emitted of the lightemitting device 4 b is reduced (step 103) and the sensing frequency ofthe image pick-up element 4 c is reduced considerably compared to theaction mode (step 100), and it is therefore possible to suppress powerconsumption considerably, and even if the fingertip 7, etc. is touchingthe fingerplate 4 a, the sensing frequency of the image pick-up element4 c is reduced considerably (step 100), which makes it possible toexpect suppression of power consumption. When the fingertip 7, etc.touches the fingerplate 4 a, however, the fingertip 7 moves and anaction mode starts almost immediately in that condition, and therefore,it is rather more important to adjust the quantity of light emitted ofthe light emitting device 4 b (step 104), move the fingertip 7 andtransition to the action mode immediately.

Then, when an ENTER operation is performed by pushing in the fingerplate4 a of the pointing device 4 with the fingertip 7 or when the operationof the pointing device 4 is finished by operating the operation switchesother than the pointing device 4 (step 109), unless the “Power/stopcall” button 2 a (FIG. 1) on the operation panel 2 is operated and poweris turned OFF or the use of the portable information terminal 1 isfinished by putting the cover to the portable information terminal 1,which will be described later (step 110), the process returns to step100 and starts the operation from there and the pointing device 4 is setin a standby state until it is operated next.

FIG. 13 illustrates layout examples of the pointing device 4 in theembodiment of this portable information terminal 1 and FIG. 13A shows anexample of placing the pointing device 4 on the operation panel 2, FIG.13B shows an example of placing the pointing device 4 on the back 1 a ofportable information terminal 1, FIG. 13C shows an example of placingthe pointing device 4 on one side 1 b of the portable informationterminal 1 (here, the pointing device 4 is placed on the side 1 b, butcan also be placed on the opposite side 1 b) and FIG. 13D shows anexample of placing the pointing device 4 next to the display screen 3.Moreover, a specific example in FIG. 13E shows an embodiment in whichnumerical keys to enter telephone numbers are eliminated and numbers areentered only through operations of the pointing device. To enternumbers, a number list and a pointer are displayed in the peripheralsection of the display screen 3 and it is possible to enter a number bymoving the pointer to the number to be entered using the pointing device4 and performing an ENTER operation. With such a portable informationterminal 1, it is also possible to place the pointing device 4 at anappropriate position.

Thus, the pointing device 4 can be placed in any location of theportable information terminal 1 taking into account the ease ofoperation, etc. For example, in the layout examples shown in FIG. 13Band FIG. 13C, most areas of the back 1 a and side 1 b of the portableinformation terminal 1 are not used and placing the pointing device 4 ineasy-to-use locations makes it possible to effectively use the surfaceof the portable information terminal 1, reduce the size of the operationpanel and implement a further reduction in size of the portableinformation terminal 1.

FIG. 14 illustrates layout examples of the pointing device 4 of anotherembodiment of the portable information terminal 1.

FIG. 14A to FIG. 14C relate to a folding portable information terminal 1in which a case 1 d provided with the display screen 3 is connected witha case 1 e having the operation panel 2 in a pivotable manner by a hinge1 c and when the portable information terminal is not used, overlappingthe case 1 d over the case 1 e makes it possible to prevent the displayscreen 3 and operation panel 2 from exposing to the outside.

In the portable information terminal 1 in such a configuration, thespecific example in FIG. 14A shows the pointing device 4 placed on theoperation panel 2 and the specific example in FIG. 14B shows thepointing device 4 placed on a hinge 1 c. In both specific examples, byplacing the pointing device 4 on the operation panel 2, it is possibleto protect the pointing device 4 when the portable information terminal1 is not used.

Moreover, the specific example in FIG. 14C shows a case where the case 1d is provided with a notch section 1 f facing the case 1 e so that partof the case 1 e is exposed to the outside through this notch section 1 falso when the terminal is folded and the pointing device 4 is placed inthat exposed section. In such a specific example, when the terminal isfolded, it is possible to change the function of the pointing device 4to a function different from the original function (that is, thefunction of moving the pointer on the display screen 3, that is, pointeroperation function) and use the pointing device 4 even when the portableinformation terminal 1 is folded. Such a function can be a function ofdisplay of arrival, etc. allowing the light emitting device 4 b of thepointing device 4 (FIG. 2) to emit light when there is an incoming callwhile the terminal is folded.

The specific example shown in FIG. 14D shows a case where a flip(open/close cover) 1 g is provided on the operation panel 2 and thespecific example shown in FIG. 14E shows a case where a slide cover 1 his provided on the operation panel 2. In these specific examples, it isalso possible to protect the pointing device 4 when the portableinformation terminal 1 is not used by placing the pointing device 4 onthe operation panel 2.

By the way, in the specific examples in FIG. 14, the pointing device 4performs the operation shown in FIG. 12 and when the terminal is foldedin the specific examples in FIG. 14A to FIG. 14C, or when the covers 1 gand 1 h are closed in the specific examples in FIG. 14D and FIG. 14E, itis determined in step 110 that the portable information terminal 1 hasfinished the operation and the pointing device 4 is set in a halt state.Furthermore, when the terminal is unfolded in the specific examples inFIG. 14A to FIG. 14C, or when the covers 1 g and 1 h are opened in thespecific examples in FIG. 14D and FIG. 14E, the pointing device 4 startsto operate in the standby mode in step 100. In this case, it goeswithout saying that a sensor (not shown) to detect the folding state orthe open/closed state of the covers 1 g and 1 h is provided in eachportable information terminal 1 shown in FIG. 14.

As shown above, the pointing device 4 is placed at an appropriatelocation of the portable information terminal 1, and it goes withoutsaying that the location is the one which allows the user to easilyoperate the portable information terminal 1 by the thumb or forefingerwhen the user holds the portable information terminal 1 by hand. Ofcourse, it is also possible to design so that the pointing device 4 isoperated with the finger of the hand different from the hand that holdsthe portable information terminal 1, but it goes without saying that itis more convenient to operate the pointing device 4 with the finger ofthe hand that holds the portable information terminal 1.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of anotherembodiment of the portable information terminal. Reference numeral 35denotes an open/close detector; 36, a contact sensor; 37, an operationlock switch; 38, a receiver section proximity sensor, and the same partsas those in FIG. 2 will be assigned the same reference numerals andoverlapping explanations thereof will be omitted.

This embodiment in FIG. 15 is the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 2with all or at least one of the open/close detector 35, contact sensor36, operation lock switch 37 and receiver section proximity sensor 38.

The open/close detector 35 is provided for the portable informationterminal 1 of a folded type or with the cover as shown in FIG. 15. Inthe case of the folded type portable information terminal 1 as shown inFIG. 16A, the open/close detector 35 is placed on either the surface ofthe case 1 d or 1 e (here, the side next to the display screen 3 of thecase 1 d). This open/close detector 35 can be a push-type switch oroptical sensor. When the cases 1 d and 1 e overlap with each other in afolded state, the open/close detector 35 detects this and supplies thisdetection output to the controller 31. The controller 31 determineswhether the portable information terminal 1 is opened or not in the caseof the folded type portable information terminal 1 and whether the coveris opened or closed in the case of the portable information terminal 1with a cover.

The contact sensor 36 is placed on the side 1 b of the portableinformation terminal 1 to detect whether the palm of the hand of theuser touches or not, as shown in FIG. 16B. This detected output issupplied to the controller 31 and the controller 31 determines from thisdetected output whether the portable information terminal 1 is held bythe hand of the user or not. This contact sensor 36 can be placed on oneside 1 b of the portable information terminal 1 or can also be placed onboth sides of the portable information terminal 1.

In order to distinguish the case where the user holds the portableinformation terminal 1 by hand to operate the terminal from other cases(for example, when the portable information terminal 1 is put in abriefcase in contact with objects around), it is preferable to have thecontact sensor 36 of an electrostatic capacitive type capable ofdistinguishing the human hand from other objects when the sensor isplaced on one side 1 b or a type of contact sensor 36 using theelectrical resistance value of the human hand as a detection referencewhen the sensor is placed on both sides.

The operation lock switch 37 is provided on one side 1 b of the portableinformation terminal 1 as shown in FIG. 16C and operating the operationlock switch 37 locks the operation switches on the operation panel 2 andpointing device 4 preventing them from operating.

The receiver section proximity sensor 38 is placed close to the locationof the sound receiver 30 such as a speaker of the portable informationterminal 1 as shown in FIG. 16D to detect any object that approachesthis (for example, within a range of 1 cm) and send the detected outputto the controller 31. The controller 31 determines from this detectedoutput that the ear of the user approaches the sound receiver 30 anddetermines that a call is being received.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the controller31 in response to detected outputs from the open/close detector 35,contact sensor 36, operation lock switch 37 and receiver sectionproximity sensor 38. Here, this flow chart will be explained assumingthat the portable information terminal 1 is provided with all or some ofthese open/close detector 35, contact sensor 36, operation lock switch37 and receiver section proximity sensor 38.

In FIG. 17, in the case of portable information terminal 1 as shown inFIG. 16C, if the operation lock switch 37 is ON (step 201), theoperation switches on the operation panel 2 are locked so that theycannot be operated, and at this time the controller 31 sets the pointingdevice 4 in a halt state (that is, the light emitting device 4 b andimage pick-up element 4 c in FIG. 2 are not operating. Step 200).Furthermore, in the case of the folded type portable informationterminal 1 as shown in FIG. 16A, if the cases 1 d and 1 e overlap witheach other in a folded state, the open/close detector 35 is in an openstate (step 202) and the controller 31 also sets the pointing device 4in a halt state (step 200). Furthermore, in the case of the portableinformation terminal 1 with a receiver section proximity sensor 38 asshown in FIG. 16D, during a conversation, this receiver sectionproximity sensor 38 supplies a detected output indicating that theuser's ear is close to the sound receiver 30 and a conversation is inprogress to the controller 31 (step 203) and the controller 31 sets thepointing device 4 in a halt state (step 200). Furthermore, in the caseof the portable information terminal 1 with the contact sensor 36 asshown in FIG. 16B, while this contact sensor 36 senses no contactingobject (step 204), the controller 31 determines from the detected outputfrom this contact sensor 36 that the portable information terminal 1 isnot held by the hand of the user and is not used and sets the pointingdevice 4 in a halt state (step 200).

In this way, when it is detected in steps 201, 202 and 204 that theportable information terminal 1 is not used, the pointing device 4 isset in a halt state and in this way even if the user touches thefingerplate 4 a (FIG. 2) of the pointing device 4 unintentionally, orwhen the portable information terminal is put in a briefcase or handbagand other objects touch the fingerplate 4 a (FIG. 2) of the pointingdevice 4, the pointing device 4 does not operate, thus making itpossible to prevent misoperation of the pointing device 4. This alsomakes it possible to suppress power consumption of the pointing device 4and realize power saving.

While the open/close detector 35 is used for a folded type portableinformation terminal or a portable information terminal 1 provided witha cover as shown in FIG. 14, while the contact sensor 36, operation lockswitch 37 or receiver section proximity sensor 38 can be used for anyone of the types of portable information terminal 1 shown in FIG. 13 andFIG. 14. Therefore, the portable information terminal 1 can have any oneof the open/close detector 35, contact sensor 36 and operation lockswitch 37 in combination with the receiver section proximity sensor 38and in this case, the detection operation in any one of steps 201, 202and 204 in combination with step 203 is carried out as the operationshown in FIG. 17.

In the case where the detection result in any one of steps 201, 202 and204 shows that the portable information terminal 1 is ready to be usedby the user and at the same time the receiver section proximity sensor38 detects no approaching object, the operation from step 100 on shownin FIG. 12 is carried out. In the case of “Yes” in steps 106 and 109 inFIG. 12, the process goes back to step 201 in FIG. 17 (this FIG. 17includes the flow chart shown in FIG. 12, but does not include step 110in FIG. 12).

FIG. 18 illustrates other specific examples of the misoperationpreventing means of the pointing device 4. Reference numeral 39 denotesa crown and the same parts as those in the aforementioned figures willbe assigned the same reference numerals and overlapping explanationsthereof will be omitted.

FIG. 18A shows a folded type portable information terminal 1 and thepointing device 4 is placed on the hinge 1 c that connects the cases 1 dand 1 e. This hinge 1 c can be made pivotable and when the pointingdevice 4 is operated, the entire pointing device 4 is exposed so that itcan be operated as shown in the figure at left and when the pointingdevice 4 is not used, at least part of the pointing device 4 is hiddenas shown in the figure at right.

Of course, the folded type portable information terminal 1 is intendedto prevent misoperation of the pointing device 4 by folding the portableinformation terminal, which is applicable when the portable informationterminal 1 is not used. When the portable information terminal 1 is inuse, the specific example in FIG. 18A is intended to also preventmisoperation of the pointing device 4 even when the cases 1 d and 1 eare completely exposed.

FIG. 18B shows a case of the portable information terminal 1 with thedisplay screen 3 and operation panel 2 exposed all the time. In thiscase, one end of a rotation axis (not shown) inside the case sticks outof the side 1 b of the outer case 8 (see FIG. 2) and the crown 39 isattached to it and the pointing device 4 is attached to the other end ofthis rotation axis within the case. When the pointing device 4 is used,the crown 39 is operated as shown in the figure at left to allow thefingerplate 4 a to be operated by touching it with the fingertip fromthe through hole 8 a provided on the outer case 8 as shown in FIG. 2 andwhen the pointing device 4 is not used, the fingerplate 4 a is hidden asshown in the figure at right of FIG. 18B by turning the crown 39 torotate the pointing device 4.

This makes it possible to prevent misoperation of the pointing device 4while not in use.

Of course, the means shown in FIG. 18B is also applicable to theportable information terminal 1 with a structure shown in FIGS. 14A and14C to 14E. Of course, in the specific examples shown in FIGS. 14A, 14Dand 14E, misoperation of the pointing device 4 is prevented by closingthe cases 1 d and 1 e and closing the covers 1 g and 1 h. This is thecase where the portable information terminal 1 is not in use and whenthe portable information terminal 1 is in use, the cases 1 d and 1 e areopen or covers 1 g and 1 h are open and the specific example in FIG. 18Bmakes it possible to prevent misoperation of the pointing device 4 evenin such a case.

FIG. 19 shows a further specific example of the misoperation preventingmeans of the pointing device 4. FIG. 19A shows an overall view of theportable information terminal 1, while FIG. 19B and FIG. 19C showsectional views of the fingerplate 4 a of the pointing device 4 viewedfrom the split line of FIG. 19A, respectively and the same parts asthose in the aforementioned figures will be assigned the same referencenumerals and overlapping explanations thereof will be omitted.

The specific example shown in FIG. 19B shows the fingerplate 4 a of thepointing device 4 having a concave outer surface whose depth is largestin the center. This pointing device 4 has the same configuration as thatin FIG. 2 except the fingerplate 4 a and the condensing lens 4 d isplaced so that the image close to the central part on the concave outersurface of the fingerplate 4 a converges onto the image pick-up surfaceof the image pick-up element 4 c. Then, when the fingerplate 4 a in theconfiguration shown in this FIG. 19B is used, if, for example, theportable information terminal 1 is put in a briefcase, even if otherobjects touch the operation panel 2 of the portable information terminal1 and move on the pointing device 4, since the surface of these objectsis separate from the central section of the outer surface of thefingerplate 4 a, this surface image on the image pick-up plane of theimage pick-up element 4 c is out of focus and the controller 31 (FIG.15) cannot detect this surface image (that is, a pattern). For thisreason, even if this object moves with respect to the pointing device 4,the controller 31 cannot detect this, cannot move on to step 107 in FIG.12 after the operation of FIG. 17 or prevent misoperation of thepointing device 4.

The specific example shown in FIG. 19C shows the fingerplate 4 a of thepointing device 4 having a flat outer surface with protrusion 8 bprovided around the through hole 8 a of the outer case 8 in which thisfingerplate 4 a is fitted. The circumference of the fingerplate 4 a isplaced lower than this protrusion 8 b. In this specific example, therest of the configuration of the pointing device 4 is the same as theconfiguration in FIG. 2 and the condensing lens 4 d is placed so thatthe image on the outer surface of the fingerplate 4 a converges onto theimage pick-up plane of the image pick-up element 4 c.

According to such a configuration, as in the case of the specificexample shown in FIG. 19B, when the portable information terminal 1 isput in a briefcase and even if another object touches the operationpanel 2 of the portable information terminal 1 and moves on the pointingdevice 4, the pointing device 4 does not operate erroneously.

Then, an operation example of the embodiment of the portable informationterminal 1 described above will be explained.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing an operation procedure when a telephonecall is made. When a telephone call is made to a person whose telephonenumber is registered, operating almost only the pointing device 4 canperform this operation. FIG. 20 shows this case.

FIG. 21 shows screens displayed on the display screen 3 according tothis operation. Reference numeral 40 is a pointer (cursor).

In FIG. 1, FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, when power is turned ON by operating the“Power/stop call” button 2 d, the initial screen appears on the displayscreen 3 as shown in FIG. 21A. In this state, operating the “Menu”button 2 c (step 300) shows the menu screen shown in FIG. 21B on thedisplay screen 3. On this menu screen, it is possible to select a menu(selection item) such as “Telephone directory”, “Mail”, “Map service”,“Shopping”, and so on. A frame-shaped pointer 40 is also displayed onthis screen. This pointer 40 can be moved by touching the aforementionedfingerplate 4 a of the pointing device 4 with the fingertip and movingthe fingertip one step at a time (one selection item at a time) in thedirection (that is, upward or downward) according to the movement of thefingertip.

On this menu screen, if an pointer operation is performed in such a waythat the pointer 40 is moved to a desired selection item, here, aselection item “Telephone directory” (step 301) and the fingerplate 4 aof the pointing device 4 is pushed in with the fingertip to perform anENTER operation (step 302), then the telephone directory screen shown inFIG. 21C is displayed on the display screen 3. This telephone directoryscreen displays the names of people whose telephone numbers areregistered and the pointer 40 to select one of them. Then, by performinga pointer operation using the fingerplate 4 a of the pointing device 4(step 303), the pointer 40 is moved on the telephone directory screen toindicate the person to whom a telephone call is made. Here, if the nameof the person in question does not appear, the pointer 40 is moved tothe end of the telephone directory screen as shown in FIG. 21D, and ifthe pointer operation is continued in the same direction, this telephonedirectory screen scrolls (step 304) and the name of the desired personcan be displayed. The telephone directory screen shown in FIG. 21E showsthis state and this makes it possible to point the pointer 40 to thedesired person (here, “Kinoshita XX”) (step 305). Then, if the ENTERoperation above is performed on the pointing device 4 with the pointer40 placed on the desired person (step 306), the telephone directoryscreen changes to the telephone number screen as shown in FIG. 21Fshowing the telephone number of the selected person, selection item“Make a call”, “Edit telephone directory”. When a telephone call is madeto this person, pointing the pointer 40 to “Make a call” and performingthe ENTER operation above using the pointing device 4 (step 307) shows acall screen as shown in FIG. 21G to make a call to the other party (step308).

This call screen also displays an item “Stop call” as shown in FIG. 21Gand the pointer 40 points to this item. For example, when the otherparty does not come on the line and the user wants to stop the call, theuser may perform the ENTER operation above using the pointing device 4while the call screen is displayed, then the call is stopped and theinitial screen in FIG. 21A is displayed again.

When a call is made while the call screen shown in FIG. 21G is displayed(step 308) and then the other party answers the phone, a conversationstarts and the name and telephone number of the other party aredisplayed on the display screen 3 at that time. When the conversationwith the other party ends and the “Power/stop call” button 2 a isoperated, the initial screen in FIG. 21A is displayed again.

Thus, by operating the pointing device 4, it is possible to call theother end of communication.

When a call is made to a person whose telephone number is notregistered, the “Power/stop call” button 2 a is operated to display thetelephone number input screen as in the case of the conventional art,the telephone number is entered in this input screen by operating theten-key pad, and then the “Start call” button 2 b is pressed, whichstarts a call to the other party.

Furthermore, operating the “Power/stop call” button 2 a in any step ofFIG. 20 can return to the initial screen in FIG. 21A and operating the“Return” button 2 d on the display screen 3 in any step of FIG. 20 canreturn to the previously displayed screen.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart showing another operation example in the aboveembodiment of the portable information terminal according to the presentinvention, that is, the operation procedure for receiving a map service.FIG. 23 illustrates screens displayed on the display screen 3 accordingto this operation. Reference numeral 41 denotes a map; 42, a pointer(cursor); 43, scroll icons.

In FIG. 1, FIG. 22 and FIG. 23, step 400 is the same as step 300 in FIG.20 and operating the “Menu” button 2 c while the initial screen in FIG.23A is displayed on the display screen 3 displays the same menu screenas that shown in FIG. 21B on the display screen 3 as shown in FIG. 23B(step 400). When the pointer is operated on this menu screen and theframe-shaped pointer 40 is pointed to a desired selection item, here aselection item “Map service” shown in FIG. 23C and the fingerplate 4 aof the pointing device 4 is pushed in with the fingertip to perform anENTER operation (step 401), then the geographic name selection screenshown in FIG. 23D is displayed on the display screen 3.

Then, through pointer operation, the pointer 40 is pointed to a targetgeographic name (here “Shibuya”) on this geographic name selectionscreen and the target geographic name is selected, and the above ENTERoperation is performed (step 402), then the selected town as shown inFIG. 23E, that is, the map screen of Shibuya appears. This map screenshows a map 41 of Shibuya selected, an arrow-shaped pointer (cursor) 42and white triangular scroll icons 43. A total of 8 scroll icons 43 aredisplayed; four for 4 corners of the map 41, four for midpoints of theseicons. These scroll icons 43 indicate the scrolling directions of themap 41 and it is possible to select one of them by the pointer 42.

While the map screen shown in FIG. 23E is displayed, through pointeroperation using the pointing device 4, the pointer 42 is moved andpointed to the scroll icon 43 indicating a desired scroll direction inthe map 41 (step 403), the above ENTER operation is carried out on thepointing device 4, then, the map 41 scrolls in the direction indicatedby this scroll icon 43 as shown in FIG. 23G (step 404). In this case,scrolling continues as long as the fingerplate 4 a of the pointingdevice 4 is depressed and when the depressing is finished, the scrollicon 43 selected by the pointer 42 changes to a black triangular shapeas shown in FIGS. 23F and 23G to define the scroll direction.

When the scrolling advances and a desired location appears on the map41, for example, a shop whose information the user wants to see appears,the user stops the ENTER operation and stops scrolling and moves thepointer 42 through pointer operation and when the user points thispointer 42 to the desired location as shown in FIG. 23H and carries outthe above ENTER operation (step 405), then the detailed informationscreen indicating detailed information of the desired location appearson the display screen 3 (step 406).

FIG. 23I and FIG. 23J show an example of the detailed information screenschematically. Detailed information of the shop selected in FIG. 23Hwith the information of interest, for example, the name of the shop(Italian restaurant), service time (10:00 to 20:00), regular holidays(Tuesday), telephone number (03-1111-XXXX) is displayed.

Furthermore, this detailed information screen shows two selection items“Make a call” and “Return to map display” and the frame-shaped pointer40 and by moving the pointer 40 through pointer operation of thepointing device 4, it is possible to select either one of the selectionitems (step 407). Then, to make a call to this shop according to thedetailed information on this detailed information screen, the userselects the selection item “Make a call” using the pointer 40 andperforms the above ENTER operation using the pointing device 4 andthereby a call is automatically made to this telephone (step 408) andwhen the stop calls and the user operates the “Power/stop call” button 2a, the screen returns to the map screen in FIG. 23H or FIG. 23E.Furthermore, even if the user does not want to make a call to this shopafter seeing the detailed information on this detailed informationscreen, by selecting the selection item “Return to map display” as shownin FIG. 23J using the pointer 40 and performing the above ENTERoperation using the pointing device 4, it is possible to return to themap screen shown in FIG. 23H or FIG. 23E. From this display screen, itis possible to carry out operations starting from step 405 to step 403and re-specify a desired location. If the user wants to stop the mapservice (step 409), it is possible to return from the map screen to thegeographic name selection screen shown in FIG. 23D or the menu screenshown in FIGS. 23B and 23D or the initial screen shown in FIG. 23A byoperating the “Return” button 2 d.

By the way, by operating the “Power/stop call” button 2 a in the displaycondition of each step except the case where the line is busy in step408, it is possible to directly display the initial screen in FIG. 23A.When the line is busy in step 408, by operating the “Power/stop call”button 2 a, the call finishes and the above-described map screen isdisplayed but by operating the “Power/stop call” button 2 a again, theinitial screen in FIG. 23A is displayed directly.

In such a “Map service”, through the control of the controller 31 (FIG.10, FIG. 15), the arrow-shaped pointer 42 displayed on the map 41 movescontinuously according to the pointer operation of the pointing device4. This makes it possible to specify precisely the desired location onthe map 41. Furthermore, on the screen on which selection items areshown, the frame-shaped pointer 40 is displayed, but this pointer 40moves step by step under the control of the controller 31. This makes itpossible to select a desired selection item smoothly without the needfor fine positional adjustment of the pointer 40. In this way, whileusing the same pointer operation method using the pointing device 4, thepresent invention can automatically change the mode of moving thepointer according to the type of the screen displayed and allow thepointer to move in a manner that fits each screen.

FIG. 24 shows sectional views showing further embodiments of thepointing device 4 used for the above-described embodiments of theportable information terminal according to the present invention.Reference numerals 4 d ₁, 4 d ₂ and 4 d ₃ denote condensing lenses; 4 g,a lens replacement mechanism; 4 h, a lens zooming mechanism, and thesame parts as those in the aforementioned figures are assigned the samereference numerals and overlapping explanations will be omitted.

Since each embodiment above of the portable information terminal 1 isprovided with an image pick-up element 4 c, this embodiment alsoprovides this image pick-up element 4 c with the function of a digitalcamera or video camera.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 24A is intended to allow the lensreplacement mechanism 4 g to switch between the condensing lenses 4 d ₁and 4 d ₂ and the condensing lens 4 d ₁ is a lens for pointer operationwith a short focal distance and the condensing lens 4 d ₂ is a lens forpicture taking such as landscapes with a long focal distance. The lensreplacement mechanism 4 g consists of a slide plate or rotation plateand the condensing lenses 4 d ₁ and 4 d ₂ are mounted on this slideplate or rotation plate. Furthermore, the lens replacement mechanism 4 gis also provided with an operation section to operate the lensreplacement mechanism 4 g associated with the operation is panel 2 orthe side 1 b of the main unit shown in FIG. 1, etc.

FIG. 24A (a) shows a status of pointer operation in which the condensinglens 4 d ₁ with a short focal distance is placed between the fingerplate4 a and image pick-up element 4 c. When the portable informationterminal 1 is used as a video camera, the lens replacement mechanism 4 gis slid or rotated so that the condensing lens 4 d ₂ with a long focaldistance is placed between the fingerplate 4 a and image pick-up element4 c as shown in FIG. 24A (b).

The embodiment shown in FIG. 24B is a case where the condensing lens 4 d₃ with a variable focal distance is used. This condensing lens 4 d ₃ isa lens that can expand/contract in the direction perpendicular to theoptical axis and the lens zooming mechanism 4 h can change the thicknessof the condensing lens 4 d ₃ by applying uniform forces in the radialdirection at a plurality of points evenly spaced on the circumference ofthe lens simultaneously or releasing the forces and thereby change thefocal distance of the condensing lens 4 d ₃. This changes the focaldistance of the condensing lens 4 d ₃. For such a lens zooming mechanism4 h, for example, an aperture mechanism used for a camera can be used.

FIG. 24B (a) shows a status of pointer operation in which the condensinglens 4 d ₃ is thick and has a sufficiently short focal distance. Whenthe portable information terminal 1 is used as a video camera, the lenszooming mechanism 4 h functions so that the condensing lens 4 d ₃becomes a lens with a long focal distance as shown in FIG. 24B (b).

The same applies to a case where the portable information terminal 1 isused as a digital camera.

By the way, in such an embodiment having also the function as a digitalcamera or video camera, the display panel 2 of the portable informationterminal 1 is provided with a video camera operation button, recordingor replay button (for a replay operation, the pointing device 4 can alsobe provided with the function as shown in FIG. 8D) and when the portableinformation terminal 1 is used as a video camera, in FIG. 10 and FIG.15, the controller 31 instructs a processing circuit (not shown) toprocess the output signal of this image pick-up element 4 c asappropriate, record the output signal in an external recording medium(not shown) such as the storage device 32 or a floppy disk, perform areplay operation and thereby display the reproduced image on the displayscreen 3.

Furthermore, in order to make the portable information terminal 1function as a digital camera or video camera as shown above, an imagepick-up element normally used for a digital camera or video camera isused as the image pick-up element 4 c. When the pointing device 4 isused for pointer operations using this image pick-up element 4 c as inthe case of the embodiment above, part of the picture taking plane ofthe image pick-up element 4 c is used as a scanning target and imagesare detected with high sensing frequency as shown above. Furthermore,when the portable information terminal 1 is used as a digital camera orvideo camera as shown above, the entire picture taking plane of theimage pick-up element 4 c is used as the scanning target. The scanningarea used for such a picture taking plane can be changed by, forexample, changing the cycle and amplitude of the scan signal used forthe image pick-up element 4 c.

As described above, the pointing device and the portable informationterminal using the same according to the present invention can move thepointer displayed on the display screen according to the movement ofimages on the outer surface of the plate detected by the image detectingmeans, and therefore when the user touches the plate with the fingertipand moves the fingertip, the fingerprint of this fingertip is detectedas a moving image and the pointer moves on the display screen in thedirection according to the direction of this movement. Therefore, it isnot necessary to operate different operation switches according to thedirection in which the pointer moves, which makes operations easier.Moreover, since it is only necessary to detect the movement of the imageon the plate, it is possible to narrow the range of image detection andreduce the size of the pointing device.

The portable information terminal according to the present inventiondetermines the presence or absence of movement of an image on the outersurface of the plate detected by the image detecting means and switchesthe sensing frequency of the image detecting means according to thedetermination result, and therefore when there is no movement of theimage on the outer surface of the plate and the pointer is not moved, itis possible to reduce the sensing frequency of the image detecting meansand suppress power consumption of this image detecting meansaccordingly.

Furthermore, the pointing device and portable information terminal usingthe same according to the present invention is further provided withlight emitting means for irradiating the outer surface of the plate withillumination light, first means for measuring a reflection factor of theplate on the outer surface from the quantity of light received of theimage detecting means and the quantity of light received of the lightemitting means, second means for designating the quantity of lightemitted of the light emitting means as a first predetermined referencevalue when the reflection factor measured by the first means falls belowa predetermined minimum reference value and adjusting the quantity oflight emitted of the light emitting means when the reflection factormeasured by the first means exceeds the minimum reference value so thatthe quantity of light received by the image detecting means becomes apredetermined second reference value which is larger than the firstreference value, third means for detecting the movement of the imagedetected by the image detecting means and moving the pointer in thedirection according to the direction of the detected movement and fourthmeans for determining the presence/absence of movement of the imagedetected by the image detecting means, setting the pointing device in anaction mode when the movement is detected, moving the pointer in thedirection according to the direction of the movement and setting thepointing device in a standby mode when no movement is detected for apredetermined period of time, wherein the sensing frequency of thepointing device in the standby mode is smaller than the sensingfrequency of the pointing device in the action mode and the second meanschanges temporarily the quantity of light emitted of the light emittingmeans when the reflection factor measured by the first means falls belowa predetermined minimum reference value and designates the quantity oflight emitted of the light emitting means as the predetermined firstreference value when the quantity of light received of the imagedetecting means does not change as the quantity of light emittedchanges, and since the light emitting means illuminates the image on theouter surface of the plate, the image detecting means can detect animage of high brightness and when no pointer movement operation iscarried out without touching the outer surface of the plate with thefingertip, etc., this can be detected, which can suppress the quantityof light emission by the light emitting means in the standby mode, thusrealizing power saving. Moreover, whether the fingertip, etc. istouching the outer surface of the plate or not is judged from thereflection factor of the image on the outer surface of the plate and avariation of the quantity of light received of the image detecting meansis detected by temporarily changing the quantity of light emitted of thelight emitting means, and therefore whether the fingertip, etc. istouching the outer surface of the plate or not can be judged moreaccurately.

Furthermore, the portable information terminal according to the presentinvention allows the pointing device to push in the plate and isprovided with at least one operation switch that operates in accordancewith this pushing operation and one of these operation switches isdesignated as an “ENTER” switch to determine the menu on the displayscreen which is pointed by the pointer. This allows the pointing deviceto have multi-functions, makes it possible to reduce the number ofoperation switches on the operation panel of the portable informationterminal, further reduce the size of the portable information terminal,and add new operation switches, thus further enhancing themulti-functions of the portable information terminal. The operator canperform a series of selection/determination operations without castingthe eyes aside from the pointing device (or without moving a largedistance).

Furthermore, the portable information terminal according to the presentinvention is configured so that the optical means of the pointing devicecan change the focal distance of the condensing lens allowing theoptical means to also have the functions as a digital camera or a videocamera.

1. A pointing device for moving pointer shown on a display screen of adisplay apparatus, comprising: a substrate disposed within a housing;and an outer package for disposing said housing above said substrate,wherein said outer package includes an opening opened on upper portionof the substrate, a plate supported in a manner to allow a pushingoperation via holding means, an operation switch operated by said platein accordance with the pushing operation of said plate, and a restoringmeans for restoring said plate to its original position in accordancewith release of said pushing operation, wherein said plate is exposedfrom said opening and includes a transparent outer surface portion forcontacting a surface of an object, and wherein said substrate includes alight emitting means for irradiating illumination light toward an outersurface of said plate, an image detecting means for detecting an imageof pattern composed of projections and depressions at the surface ofsaid object which is in contact with the outer surface of said plate andirradiated with said illumination light, and a condensing lens forcondensing reflecting light from surface of said object on a detectingsurface of said image detecting means so as to form an image of patternscomposed of projections and depressions of the surface of said object,wherein optical axis of said condensing lens and center axis of saidplate coincides with central normal line of imaging surface of saidimage detecting means, and said light emitting means is disposed so thatsaid irradiation light is irradiated slanting to central axis of saidplate and toward external surface portion of said plate, and whereinsaid pointer is moved in accordance with movement of said image at outersurface portion of said plate detected by said image detecting means,and said operation switch is operated in accordance with the pushingoperation of said plate.
 2. A pointing device according to claim 1,wherein a change of said image of said object at the outer surface ofsaid plate detected by said image detecting means is detected, andincludes a control means for moving said pointer by a speed inaccordance with a change of said image in a direction in accordance withchange of detected said image.
 3. A pointing device according to claim2, wherein said operation switch moved by said plate in accordance withthe pushing operation of said plate is a determination switch fordetermining menu indicated by the pointer on said display screen.